FAQ's

A few people have e-mailed me similar questions so I thought it would be best to post the answers for all to see.

1 - How old is Stephen and when is his birthday?

He is eleven months old this Sunday and turns one on April 25th!

2 - How much longer are you going to be there? Why does it take so long?
If you do two trips you are here about 25 days for the first trip and the second trip is 17 days or so. After the flight and losing Stas I decided to stay the entire time and finsih in one trip. When it is one trip it is about 60 days. Unfortunately, the time we spent bonding with Stas did not count and we had to start all over again. So, I will be home some time around the last week in April or the first week in May.

The reason it takes so long is twofold: The bonding is manadatory (15 days) and when you go to court and the judge grants your adoption there is still another 15 day waiting period until it is official. The second part that makes it so long is that Stephen's birth certificate will be reissued with Joe and I as the parents keeping the DOB and place of birth the same. He also needs a passport and visa. When things are just about complete Stephen and I have to fly to Almaty to finish up the last steps: the SOS clinic examination and Embassy exit interview.

3 - Do you still get to visit Stephen during the waiting period? When can you take him to your apartment?

Yes, I still go to the orphanage every single day, seven days a week for an hour and a half each visit. I can take him to the apartment to live with me on April 4th when the adoption is offical and the waiting period ends.

4 - Do you know anything about his birthmother?

Just that she was 17 years old. Her name and the biological father's name (according to the mother's words) were given on his birth certificate.

If I get any other questions or remember any I forgot to answer I will add them. I tried to post a bunch of pictures but the word verification on Blogger is giving me a hard time.

I just want to say an extra special thank you to Muriel for forwarding the many messages she recieved when I made the blog private. I was shocked by how many people were following! Thank you to each and every blogger friend and fellow AP who sent words of encouragement and supported us with prayers and positive thoughts!